Thursday, April 08, 2004

My daughter-in-law's dad has always been a gung ho Democrat. Candidate signs would dot his lawn in October of election years. In 2002, though, he voted for Talent. Abortion, don't you know. I'll see him at Ashley's fourth birthday party this Saturday and maybe have a chance to tell him about Portugal.

Nicholas Kristof's Wednesday New York Times column described the situation in that small industrialized country where abortion is illegal. Recently, seven women went on trial for having abortions. They faced three years each in prison. Ten accomplices were also tried--husbands, boyfriends, parents, even a taxi driver who had taken a pregnant woman to a clinic.

Despite their almost universal disapproval of abortion, most Portuguese--79 percent--now favor abortion rights. To read the article click here. And be sure to read all the way to the end. There's a little reward waiting for you there.